The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently published a final rule that lowered registration fees for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) plan by 9.1 percent in 2018 and 4.55 percent in 2019. Interstate motor carriers are required to register with the UCR program every year, and the funds collected from registration fees are then distributed to state governments in order to help pay for highway enforcement and safety programs.
The UCR program’s board of directors recommended lowering the registration fees after noticing that the total revenue collected in 2016 exceeded the maximum amount allowed by the UCR Act. UCR fees are determined based on the number of vehicles that a motor carrier owns or operates, and, as a result, the lower fees may have a more substantial impact on large carriers.
Although state enforcement of UCR registration requirements usually begins on Jan. 1 every year, the UCR program's board of directors requested that states forgo enforcement until April 5, 2018.
